San Francisco Giants: 5 Players in Richmond to Watch in 2017

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Feb 20, 2017; Scottsdale, AZ, USA; San Francisco Giants pitcher Andrew Suarez poses for a portrait during photo day at Scottsdale Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports /

Andrew Suarez, LHP

Behind Tyler Beede and Matt Gage, Suarez was the second best pitcher in Double-A last season. He made 19 starts, after earning a very quick call up from San Jose last season. Suarez started off in fine form in San Jose, posting a 1.01 WHIP, and 6:1 strikeout/walk ratio in just under 30 innings total. When he got to Richmond he clearly struggled.

The most encouraging thing from him was that in his final ten starts he was able to whittle his ERA from 5.46 down to 3.95. Over that ten start stretch, he posted a 2.33 ERA and finished with 56 Strikeouts over those nine games.

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Suarez has been a fast mover over the last two years, and the numbers all back that up. His worst stretch so far has been his initial nine games in Richmond. If Suarez’s trajectory continues the same path, he just might be in the rotation conversation in a few years. Yes, his stuff is good enough. We were able to see a little bit of him as a non-roster invite this spring, but nothing really impressive showed up.

He’s rated the 10th best prospect in the San Francisco Giants organization according to MLBPipeline.com. Like other pitchers on the list, he’s given a grade at average, or above on every category, yet given a slightly below average overall grade.

Silly, I know. His fastball features some tailing action and sink, on top of a really good slider. Suarez has four solid pitches in his arsenal, which make him a prime option as a starter in the future. Hopefully, he ends up as a fast mover and we get to see him in Sacramento at some point in 2017.